Flintoff announces retirement

England's Andrew Flintoff has dropped a bombshell on the eve of the second Test at Lord's by announcing his retirement from Test cricket at the end of the series.

The injury-plagued all-rounder, who said his creaking body could no longer cope with the demands of Tests, has set his sights on becoming the world's best Twenty20 and one-day player.

In an announcement timed to boost England's prospects at Lord's, a ground where they have not beaten Australia for 75 years, the 31-year-old Flintoff said his battle with injury had worn him down.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting warned England that Flintoff's farewell could prove a distraction for the rest of the series. He cited Steve Waugh's emotional farewell tour in 2003-04 as proof of the damage that it could do to a team.

Flintoff said his sanity depended on him giving up the see-saw battle of injury and rehabilitation that had marked his international career for the past seven years. He vowed to end his career with a series of powerful performances.

"The plan is to go out with a bang," he said last night.

"But you can't just keep playing games here and there and waiting to get fit.

"For my own sanity and the family that lives with me, I couldn't keep doing it.

"I've had two years of rehabilitation in the past four so the time had come to draw a line under it and concentrate on this series and then one-day cricket."

Flintoff is not guaranteed to play at Lord's and will be given until just before the start of play today to prove his fitness after having three cortisone injections in his right knee this week.

Paceman Steve Harmison will replace Flintoff if he is ruled out.

Swing bowler Graham Onions is set to replace spinner Monty Panesar, while Australia will decide before play whether to bring in seamer Stuart Clark at Nathan Hauritz's expense.

Flintoff said he had known for several months that his body could no longer handle the demands of playing Tests but he was eager to play one-dayers at least until the 2015 World Cup.

"My focus will be to become the best one-day player in the world," he said

The key to England's Ashes success in 2005, Flintoff hopes to finish his Test career with his country wresting back the trophy, but could not guarantee he would be fit to see out the series.

Flintoff bowled on the Nursery Ground centre wicket at Lord's yesterday but did not move freely and grimaced in pain after every delivery.

Ponting said he had relished his battles with Flintoff but thought the retirement announcement could backfire.

"I'm shocked," Ponting said. "If he plays in the rest of the series, I am sure there will be a lot of distractions outside the England team for them to deal with."

Flintoff has endured four separate ankle operations and surgery to his groin, shoulder and knee.

He battled to be fit for the 2005 Ashes series but then played a pivotal role with bat and ball as England won 2-1.

He has also fallen foul of team regulations many times, including the 2002-03 Ashes tour when he was drunk for much of the time while supposedly undergoing rehabilitation on his injured groin.

He was a poor captain in Australia in 2006-07 when the home team regained the Ashes in a 5-0 whitewash.